5 countries where preaching in public is a serious crime

They are:

Ghana

Last week, the Deputy Minister of Transport, Daniel Nii Kwartei Titus-Glover, announced that preaching on commercial buses is a punishable offence.

Issuing the statement after a ghastly accident on the Accra-Kumasi Highway on Wednesday, June 13, 2018, "One of the things I have noticed in recent times which I have communicated to the driver unions the trend where some pastors preach in buses.

"I am not against preaching, religion is very good and I am a Christian, but when the driver is driving and a pastor is preaching, it has the propensity of dividing his attention, some of the drivers are passionate about religion, and, so, when they get soaked too much into what the preacher is saying at that moment, his attention will be divided."

He added, "I have told the driver unions that they must not allow anybody to sell medicines or preach in the buses. Road safety is a shared responsibility."

Jamaica

Despite the fact that this is a predominantly Christian country, BBC reports that preachers have been banned from evangelising to fellow passengers.

The ban was announced in 2012 by Hardley Lewin, managing director of the Jamaica Transit Company Limited who told The Gleaner newspaper that it is in the interest of the passengers.

"I am all for evangelizing, but they cannot use the bus as their platform," he said. "I think this is what makes the bus an attractive mobile church. I suppose you cannot just get off because you have spent your money."

ALSO READ: Here’s how to share the gospel on social media

Bolivia

In 2017, preaching the gospel in a South American country called Bolivia became a crime.

According to a law, which stated that anyone caught telling others about their faith could face five to 12 years in prison.

The law titled Article 88 says, "whoever recruits, transports, deprives of freedom or hosts people with the aim of recruiting them to take part in armed conflicts or religious or worship organizations will be penalized five to 12 years of imprisonment."

This law, which affects approximately 2 million evangelical Christians, went into effect on December 15, 2017.

Russia

President Vladimir Putinsigned a new law against evangelism in 2016.

According to the new law, anyone caught preaching in anything other than a recognised church building will face tougher sanctions.

Sadly, things have only gotten worse for Christians, Jehovah's Witnesses in particular since this law went into effect on July 20, 2016.

China

For a country that holds a permanent spot on Open Door USA's World Watch List for countries suffering religious persecution, it comes as no surprise that it does not tolerate public preaching.

In 2017, Pastor Xu Shizhen, her daughter, and her 3-year-old grandson were arrested by Chinese authorities for spreading the gospel.

According to CBN News, they were arrested for singing, dancing and preaching the gospel in parks and public squares in Xianning, Hubei.